Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Summary
Blender has a number of physics simulators, all of which can be incorporated into your project. The fl uid
simulator can produce quite realistic results, but only at very high resolutions and within a limited physical
area, constraining its usefulness. Other solutions for fl uids are objects animated with a wave modifi er and tex-
tures, and the use of standard particle systems, either in conjunction with metaballs or a clever use of materi-
als. The cloth simulator is simple to set up, is fast, and produces excellent animation. Blender's rigid body
physics system bakes the simulation directly into animation Ipos, making it the most portable of any of the
simulators. It is good at simulating objects that must collide, roll, slide, or bounce around believably.
Particle systems can be used for a wide variety of effects, including atmospherics like smoke and fi re, and
physical systems with high counts of particulate matter like pollen and shattering glass. Particle systems can
also be visualized as strands to create hair, fur, and grass. The strands can be styled interactively and have a
large number of material and rendering options, which can produce realistic results.
The soft body simulator also has a variety of uses, from creating entire objects that shake and wiggle like gela-
tin to augmenting character anatomy with secondary motion to giving bounce to strand-based hair.
With the exception of rigid body physics, all of the simulators produce cache fi les that must be managed
properly when dealing with linking and rendering.
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